Iowa State beat No. 3 Oklahoma, a 31-point favorite, on Saturday in Norman, 38-31.
The go-ahead score was this brilliant touchdown catch by Allen Lazard, who skied in the midst of a couple of OU defensive backs to haul in a 25-yarder from backup QB Kyle Kempt.
I have no idea how that ball got caught, but it did. The Cyclones got a fourth-down stop on the ensuing drop to cinch up their biggest win in years. (Maybe ever? It’s definitely up there, though they’ve had a few big ones.)
The teams traded shots all fourth quarter. ISU took a lead earlier at 31-24 after answering a missed field goal by Oklahoma on this bubble screen TD.
But the Sooners bounced back.
The Cyclones originally tied the game at 24 after this drive.
That 94-yard TD drive was ISU's longest of the season.
— Cyclone Football (@CycloneFB) October 7, 2017
Which was capped off by this long TD from Kempt to Marchie Murdock.
This was ISU’s first win over Oklahoma since 1990.
Just an fyi, OU is 74-5-2 all-time against Iowa State
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) October 7, 2017
They let the Sooners know about it, too.
Here was a “WHO’S YO DADDY” taunt on the field:
And here was an attempt at a flag-planting, in reference to OU QB Baker Mayfield’s stunt at Ohio State:
Evrett Edwards planted Iowa flag at midfield after #cyclones upset of #Sooners. Teammate immediately yelled at him & apologized to OU player pic.twitter.com/Qlx94Zvesn
— Nathan Thompson (@NathanDThompson) October 7, 2017
Mayfield on iowa flag plant: it's expected, sure I'll get comments that Iowa State is my dad ... #Sooners
— Eric Bailey (@EricBaileyTW) October 7, 2017
They pulled it off with their third-string QB as well.
Kempt finished 18-of-24 for 343 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. Kempt was the signal-called for the Cyclones because late Friday night it was reported that Jacob Park would be taking a leave of absence from the team:
Park is still on the team, Iowa State officials confirmed to the Register, but will not play Saturday — and potentially beyond — as he deals with unspecified medical issues.
“Jacob is a great young man dealing with some personal medical concerns,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said in a statement first obtained by the Register on Friday. “We are committed to helping him cope, supporting him on all levels and helping him prepare to get back on the playing field with his teammates as soon as possible.”
It’s unclear what’s up with Park beyond the vague medical issues, but here’s hoping he’s OK and that things get cleared up with him.
Iowa State’s shown signs of being a dangerous team this year.
The Cyclones almost beat a competitive Iowa team in a wildly entertaining edition of ¡El Assico! in Ames. They were in the game for a while against a talented Texas team, though their offense wasn’t good enough to actually win it. Matt Campbell’s Cyclones aren’t Big 12 contenders this year, but they’re not a laughingstock, either.
Oklahoma entered 4-0, including a win at Ohio State in Week 2, and that still stands as the most impressive win by any team yet in 2017. The Sooners struggled a little bit at Baylor two weeks ago, but they hadn’t shown any signs that they’d have this sort of trouble against a team of Iowa State’s caliber. It’s OK to praise the Cyclones as pretty decent this year and still be baffled that OU wasn’t able to destroy them at home.